Is “The novel conflates the son of a demon king with the Buddhist Sudhana.” true?
novel invention
In Chapter 042 of 'Journey to the West', it is written that the Bull Demon King's son, Red Boy, is subdued by Guanyin and becomes the Sudhana child. In Buddhism, the Sudhana child originates from the 'Avatamsaka Sutra', being a youth who seeks the Way and Dharma, with no connection to the bull demon or the Samadhi fire. Original text: "待要著善财龙女与你同去，你却又不是好心，专一只会骗人。" (Chapter 042 of 'Journey to the West').
Red Boy
The combination of Red Boy and the Buddhist Sudhana in the novel is fictional.
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